Consultancy Terms of Reference (Baseline Study) for Safeguarding Women, Vulnerable Populations, and Girls’ Rights to Land Ownership and Access to Justice from the Grassroots Project

Consultancy Terms of Reference (Baseline Study) for Safeguarding Women, Vulnerable Populations, and Girls’ Rights to Land Ownership and Access to Justice from the Grassroots Project

Client: BLANTYRE OUR BODIES OUR LIVES
Location: Blantyre Rural, Malawi
Duration: 4 working days (fieldwork) + 7 calendar days (analysis & reporting)
Implementing Partners: Blantyre Our Bodies Our Lives (OBOL) and Ecorys
Anticipated Start: September 2025

1. Background and Rationale

Blantyre Our Bodies Our Lives (OBOL), in partnership with Ecorys, is implementing a one-year initiative to strengthen the protection of women’s, girls’ and other vulnerable populations’ rights to land ownership and access to justice. The project emphasizes the enforcement of land-related laws and policies, and strengthens community-level linkages to legal aid and alternative dispute resolution services. Targeting eight Traditional Authorities (TAs) in Blantyre Rural, the project addresses harmful socio-cultural and gender norms that perpetuate land grabbing and denial of women’s rights to land.

The baseline study will:

• Establish the starting point for key outcome and output indicators.
• Clarify contextual barriers and opportunities.
• Provide actionable recommendations to refine implementation strategies.

2. Purpose and Objectives of the Baseline Study

Overall purpose: To generate credible, disaggregated baseline evidence on land rights, access to justice, and prevailing socio-cultural norms affecting women, girls, and vulnerable populations in Blantyre Rural.

Specific objectives:

1. Assess awareness, attitudes, and practices regarding women’s and girls’ land rights.

2. Document prevalence and nature of land-related disputes (including land grabbing).

3. Map existing grievance and redress mechanisms (formal, customary, community-based).

4. Identify gaps in enforcement of land laws and barriers to accessing justice/legal aid.

5. Provide baseline values for project indicators to inform monitoring, learning, and adaptation.

6. Offer recommendations for programming, advocacy, and stakeholder engagement.

3. Key Questions

The study will answer (but not be limited to) the following:

• Awareness & Norms: What knowledge and attitudes exist about women’s land rights among men, women, youth, and traditional leaders? Which norms support or hinder women’s ownership/control of land?
• Practices & Outcomes: What proportion of women report sole or joint ownership/control? How prevalent are land grabbing cases, and what forms do they take?
• Access to Justice: Which dispute resolution mechanisms are used (formal/customary)? How do communities perceive their accessibility, timeliness, and fairness?
• Systems & Enforcement: How effectively are land policies enforced? What coordination or capacity gaps exist among duty bearers?
• Vulnerable Populations: What unique barriers do widows, divorced/separated women, adolescent girls, persons with disabilities, and ultra-poor households face?

4. Indicator Framework (Illustrative)

(Indicators will be finalized during inception.)

5. Scope of Work and Tasks

The consultant will:

• Inception phase: Review documents, finalize research questions, develop methodology/tools, prepare Inception Report.
• Tool development & piloting: Draft KII/FGD guides; (optional) short quantitative intercept tool; pilot and refine.
• Data collection:
  • KIIs: District Lands Officer, 4 TAs, magistrate, CSOs/paralegals (approx. 13–18).
  • FGDs: At least 4 groups (8–10 participants each), ensuring diversity (AGYW, widows, persons with disabilities where feasible).
• Data management & analysis: Transcribe, translate, code, and analyze data. Apply thematic analysis (qualitative) and descriptive statistics (if quantitative).
• Validation & reporting: Facilitate stakeholder validation; submit draft and final reports plus data package.

6. Methodology

• Mixed-methods design with qualitative emphasis.
• Sampling: Purposive for KIIs; stratified purposive for FGDs.
• Techniques: Semi-structured KIIs, participatory FGDs (e.g., vignettes, service-mapping), optional intercept surveys.
• Quality assurance: Daily debriefs, spot-checks, tool version control.
• Ethics: Informed consent, confidentiality, trauma-sensitive facilitation, safeguarding, referral pathways.

7. Deliverables and Schedule

8. Roles and Responsibilities

• Consultant: Lead design, data collection, analysis, reporting, ethics, safeguarding compliance.
• OBOL: Coordinate logistics, community entry, stakeholder introductions, review outputs.
• Ecorys and FAWEMA: Provide technical oversight, quality assurance, and donor alignment.

9. Management and Reporting

The consultant will report to OBOL’s Project Manager, with technical oversight from FAWEMA and Ecorys. Weekly status updates and a post-fieldwork debrief are required. Substantive changes to scope/timelines must be approved by OBOL.

10. Timeline and Level of Effort

11. Ethical Considerations and Safeguarding

• Informed consent/assent.
• Confidentiality and anonymization.
• Trauma-informed facilitation.
• Safe referrals for legal aid/psychosocial support.
• Compliance with OBOL safeguarding and national research standards.

12. Consultant Qualifications

• Education: Bachelor’s in Social Sciences, Gender, Development Studies, Law, or related (Master’s preferred).
• Experience: ≥5 years conducting baseline/evaluation studies on gender, land rights, or justice; qualitative methods expertise; Malawi land/gender policy familiarity; grassroots engagement.
• Skills: Strong analysis/reporting; facilitation; English & Chichewa fluency; ability to deliver under tight timelines.

13. Application Process

Interested consultants should submit:

1. Technical proposal (approach & methodology).
2. Financial proposal (all-inclusive).
3. CV(s) and evidence of similar assignments.
4. At least two references from past clients.

Email applications to: blantyreobol@gmail.com by 12^th September, 2025.

14. Selection and Evaluation Criteria